


Dance! Dance! Pandora!

by StrongSpork



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angel isn't a siren, Hes still an ass but hes good to angel, Hyperion is just a tech company in this, Ill add characters as I go - Freeform, Jack is a good dad, Minor Character Death, Rhys is a dance instructor, Single Parent Handsome Jack (Borderlands), They live on Pandora but its basically earth i just wanted to use names from the games
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:13:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26617261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrongSpork/pseuds/StrongSpork
Summary: After the loss of Angels mother, Jack is forced to balance work and home life as a single parent. Running a business and raising a child, is quite the juggling act that has left Jack with no time to think about himself, his life has been dedicated to giving Angel the best but she isn't a little girl anymore, she has her own life and its time Jack did to.Its time he started doing things for himself again, however starting with that illegally attractive dance instructor of Angel's wasn't exactly what Jack had in mind.
Relationships: Handsome Jack/Rhys (Borderlands)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17





	1. 1. Prelude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok sooooooo
> 
> This is just a lil introductory chapter, scene setting on Jack and Angels part. 
> 
> Some cute father daughter times ensue.
> 
> I promise.

Angel had been every bit her mothers daughter, she shared her deep black locks and bright blue eyes, a near spitting image when it came to looks, Jack had tried to be hurt at first but figured he was thankful she didn’t look like him in the end, he would much rather the beautiful little angel he had been blessed with. She did however take after him in other ways, she was headstrong like both of her parents, knew exactly what she wanted and how she was going to get it, she was every bit as driven as her father. Whilst he had often been faulted for this, his seemingly unyielding drive and stubbornness, it was exactly what had put him where he was currently; which for those of you wondering was CEO of one of the top tech manufacturers on Pandora.

Just like her father, when Angel had her mind set on something, that was it, she would give it her absolute all, really throw herself into whatever it was. For example, ballet. Angel couldn't have been more than six when she had seen posters around her school advertising ballet lessons at a local dance school, she had begged her mother to let her join, although she really hadn’t taken much persuading, neither did Jack, eager to encourage his daughters enthusiasm. And how right they had been to do so, sure Angel had been doing well at school up until then both academically and socially, but something changed when she started ballet, she was in her element, a newfound passion they hadn’t yet seen from her.

They were the image of the perfect “All Pandoran family”, the hardworking husband and father, the doting wife and mother and their little angel. They were, until the day of the accident, the day Angel lost her mother and Jack lost the love of his life. They had seen her mere minutes before it happened, they had returned home from Angel's first recital, ordered pizza, Angel's choice as a treat, she had left to take the empty boxes out to the trash, it should have only taken a second.

If you were to ask Angel she probably wouldn't be able to recall much from that night other than the screech of tires and her father insisting she stay inside. Or at least that is what Jack would like to believe, for her own sake he wished that was the truth. She remembers very little, but what she does is vivid. She remembers the screech of tires, the scream that followed, the way Jack’s face fell from toothy grin he had been sporting,the way his hands dropped from where he had been tickling at her sides, like lead weights as he stood and stumbled over towards the window as if on autopilot. The way he faltered before turning to her and telling, no demanding that she stay indoors, how she was not, under any circumstances to follow daddy outside.

It had been a drunk driver, swerved up onto the pavement, realizing all too late.

Angel remembers this, vividly, above all else. Her father cradling her mother in his arms, she could see them through a crack in the door, his face pressed to hers as he whispered unintelligible pleas into her lifeless form.

The coming months were tough for them both, Jack suddenly a widower and a single parent, Angel now motherless and forced into a maturity un-befitting of her age by what she had seen. Hell the coming years were tough, but they had each other, and together they managed… in their own ways. Jack poured himself into his work even more so than before, working longer hours and well into the night, so long as he was distracted, he would be fine. He had to be. For Angel, everything he did was for Angel. He refused the offer of “family help” he refused to listen to the idiots who told him to hire a nanny, a caretaker, someone to help with Angel. He did not need /help/ with his own damned daughter thank you very much. He was perfectly capable and he’d be damned if he was going to let someone else pretend they could be half the parent, Angel's mother had been. He was a goddamn CEO, if he needed to take time off to spend time with his daughter then that was what he was going to do.

Jack was there every single damn day, dropping his Angel off at school, picking her up, taking her to ballet which turned to dance in later years, her high school offering after school classes for those wanting to pursue more than the minimal dance included in their physical ed classes. From there a select few were offered advanced classes for exceptional students, a chance to work with trainee instructors from one of the most prestigious dance schools in the area.

Of course Angel was one of these students, aged 15 one of the youngest to be offered a place in the advanced classes. She was over the moon when she received the letter, they had been handed out at the end of her final class for the year. She had been excited to see that the letter was addressed to her personally instead of her father, which usually meant the contents were going to be incredibly boring. Not this one. This one was special.

* * *

“You're kidding me!? Angel, sweetheart, that's amazing news!” Jack beamed back at his daughter as she enthusiastically waved the letter in question, unable to sit still since she had entered the car.

“I know! I… I get to work with Atlas! The Atlas!!” Angel exclaimed giddily, flopping back into her seat at last as the reality really started to sink in. Jack assumed that was the name of this ‘prestigious’ dance school the kids would be working with. With a click of his tongue, he nodded in response as if mulling it over, himself “Well, I guess that means you’re a pretty big deal huh baby?!” He grinned, leaning across to give her a gentle nudge. “Don’t go forgetting about your old man when you’re rich and famous, yeah!?”

“Dad!” Angel giggled, pushing against the other's arm, no real force behind it as she shook her head. “That’s not gonna happen”

“Not with that attitude it aint!” Jack was quick to interject, although Angel was already shoving him again. “I meant I’m not going to forget you, dummy!”

“Hey! That’s no way to talk to your father” Jack huffed, raising a hand to his chest in mock affrontation “I was about to say we ought to celebrate, I'm having second thoughts now” That had Angel frowning, frown quickly turning to a pout as Jack turned his nose up at the display. “Nope! Not working, you can’t pull that face on me! No!” He protested as Angel persisted. “But daaa-d, pleee-ase” She drew out the words perfectly, flashing him her most dramatic puppy eyes as if the offer of celebrating was ever really off of the table.

“Gahhh!” Jack turned, deflating dramatically at the sight “Ok fine, you win princess, just don’t look at me like that, s’not playin' fair and you know it” All he was met with in return was a self satisfied little smile as Angel buckled herself in. “Your pick sweetie, where’d you wanna go? I’m your chauffeur for the night”

“Dad… you’re always my chauffeur” Angel shot him a sideways glance, edging dangerously close to an eye-roll, earning herself a goofy grin in response.

“Damn straight, princess. Now, where to?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this first chapter was a bit of a short one, they'll be getting bigger than this
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did writing it!
> 
> I'm super excited to get going with this, I have lots of ideas for the plot and characters I wanna bring in!
> 
> Let me know what you think, feedback is always greatly appreciated <3


	2. Exemplary Student

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Rhys and Fiona, housemates and dance partners. 
> 
> Every year, Juniors are assigned a class to teach in their Senior year as a part of training for industry. Today is the day of their final exam and the day that classes will be assigned, to say they were eager to find out would be an understatement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick note just to say, I will now be updating this every Thursday for the foreseeable <3

“We’re going to be late!”

“Oh my god you’re so dramatic, it’s not that late!”

“Rhys I swear I will leave your ass behind!”

There was a grunt from behind the bathroom door, followed by a thud and then a yelp. A moment later the door swung open, the man in question stumbling forth, black t-shirt half on as he tried to wrestle it over his head. “I’m coming!” He called, finally managing to wrangle the garment into position, running a hand through auburn hair returning any loose strands to their gelled back prison. He turned to catch one last glance at himself in the bathroom mirror before rounding on the top of the staircase, almost jumping at the sour look on the face staring back up at him from the bottom. “Dang Fi, if looks could kill”

There was a scoff “Then you would have been a garden ornament long ago” Fiona retorted, lips twitching into a smirk as she stepped aside savoring the mortified look on Rhys’ face. “I am wounded” He declared upon joining his housemate in their kitchen. “What's new- ah! Ta ta ta!” Fiona was quick to grab at a lanky arm, tugging the other away from the fridge.”Hey! What?!” Rhys tried to protest “I haven’t eaten yet!”

“No! Your breakfast privileges have been revoked, we’ve gotta go!” Fiona gave another tug, determined to get them out of the house in the next sixty seconds. “Fi! I’ve gotta eat, you can’t revoke my-” The taller's protest was cut short, his words dying in his throat when Fiona shot him a glare over her shoulder. “You should have thought about that before you took fifty years on your hair”

“I do not take that long!” He tried to protest although it was useless, he had already lost, they were already out of the door. “Yes! You do!” Fiona shot back, already unlocking the car and ducking in, Rhys following reluctantly behind. “I don’t understand why either” She pressed the keys into the ignition, key-rings rattling as she turned them, the car rumbling to life. “You’re just going to sweat it straight back out?” Rhys went straight for the radio dial, earning himself a slap on the wrist. “No?! What makes you think I’m letting you pick after that”

Rhys huffed leaning back into his seat as he buckled himself in, massaging his hand idly. “I gel it back because otherwise it gets in my eyes” There was a moment of quiet as Fiona focused on pulling out, joining the road before she turned her attention back to side eyeing Rhys incredulously. “But you sweat it out during rehearsals? Which, news flash, also goes in your eyes and then you have limp hair and hair gel in them surely?” She definitely wasn’t looking for an answer to that, and she wasn’t about to leave time for Rhys to think of one “Just buy a sweatband, it will do exactly the same job.. Except way better”

Rhys, admittedly, took it like a champ, waiting for his turn before shooting Fiona a lazy grin. “Are you done? You got that outta your system?”

The pair shared a moment, Fiona fighting the urge to smile and give him the satisfaction, eventually she gave in, smiling at the road ahead. “Yeah”

“Feel better?”

Her smile widened into a grin, side eyeing Rhys as she answered “Yeah”

“Good.” He visibly relaxed back into his seat a little, lips twitching into the beginnings of a smirk, as he decided to try his luck. “Still love me?”

“Hey, don’t push it you” Fiona huffed, reaching down into the cup holder between them, fishing out a bundled up napkin to throw in the others face. (It was clean (mostly)... it was almost 100% Rhys who had left it there, regardless) “If we’re late it's still your fault, you’re not outta the park yet buddy!”

“Ahh! No what are you doing!” Rhys squealed, batting the bundled up napkin away “That's disgusting! You don’t know how long that's been there!”

Fiona’s only response was a low chuckle, content in her victory. Rhys returned to mock sulking, the pair happy to share one another's company only half listening to whatever the radio had been playing for the remainder of the journey, their peace only disrupted as they were pulling into the car park, by Rhys’ stomach growling in protest. Fiona found it hilarious, breaking into a fit of giggles as she swung the car into a convenient space, Rhys however did not see the humor in it, instead removing himself from the car as soon as possible.

“I’m so hungry oh my god” He whined, placing a hand over his clearly /starved/ stomach as Fiona joined him in the parking lot. “Well, whose fault is that” She sing-songed taking the lead leaving Rhys to trot behind her to catch up.”Uhhm, i'm pretty sure the maniac that /dragged/ me out of the house against my will this morning”

Fiona looked over her shoulder at the taller, shrugging nonchalantly “All I’m hearing is this being your own fault for almost making us late” She grinned at the scowl that earned, slowing her pace to bump shoulders with the other “ Oh come on, don’t look at me like that… I’ll buy you breakfaaa-st” That did sound good, he had been about to accept when his stomach did the talking for him, growling again in response.

“I'll take that as a yes” Fiona smirked, hooking her arm under Rhys’ as he smiled back shaking his head.

* * *

“Feeling better now?” Fiona cocked a brow as she leant forwards onto her palm for support, eyeing Rhys as he leant back into his seat, dropping the balled up wrapper he had been holding onto the table. “Yes, actually. Thank you very much” He hummed, unfortunately having made the mistake of getting too comfortable. “Well, come on then” Fiona grinned, pushing off to stand, grabbing him by the arm pulling him up to stand. “We have a studio booked to get some last minute rehearsal in for this afternoon” Rhys grumbled in protest at being jostled too soon after eating, although he was quick to get over it when their performance was mentioned. “You really think they’ll pick us Fi?”

Fiona had already walked off ahead again, although this time she had been kind enough to wait up for Rhys. “Of course” She sounded so sure, slinging her arms behind her head to stretch as they walked. “You do realize it's basically impossible for people to fail this unit right? This is just to determine which class we end up leading, we’ve all gotta do a placement year regardless”

“Hm” Rhys hummed, mulling it over as he unscrewed his water bottle, taking a sip “ I suppose… doesn’t mean I don’t wanna go for a distinction. Go hard or go home right?”

Fiona scoffed at that, although of course she shared the sentiment. “Yeah, just don’t go stealing the spotlight alright, we are marked as partners.” She smirked at the way Rhys gasped, waving his bottle at her “Why would you think that, when would I ever do anything like that”

“Oh save it, I see straight through you Rhys, you don’t even believe that” Fiona scoffed, bumping into him as they walked. “Hm, you got me there. Just don’t slow me down and we won't have any issues” He returned the smirk, bumping her back with his hip.

“Oh you little shit, you better start running mister”

“I’ll race ya’” Rhys challenged with a waggle of his brows, taking off ahead of Fiona before she could respond.

“Oh it's on,asshole! Hey! Get back here!” She hollered after him, breaking into a run through the halls after Rhys.

Rhys won the impromptu race by a long shot reaching their reserved studio and slipping inside to grab first dibs on the speakers, they had already picked their song for the exam weeks ago, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t pick their warm up music. Fiona came barging in as Rhys was hooking his phone up to the aux, cursing under her breath as she dropped her water bottle in front of the mirror wall. “So that's why you ran off ahead, sneaky! Don’t think I wont remember that!” She huffed between breaths, getting a head start on stretching as Rhys built up their queue.

Eventually Rhys dropped his phone down onto the bench, jogging over to drop his bottle beside Fiona’s, joining her for stretches. The mirror wall was excellent for rehearsals, you could keep an eye on your form whilst running through steps and stretches, that was of course why they existed and were a staple in dance studios. They did however also double as an incredible ego boost for the narcissists among us, being able to check themselves out whilst they worked which Rhys was one hundred and ten percent doing, but so was Fiona so neither said anything, simply exchanging a knowing look in the mirror. There was absolutely nothing wrong with a little bit of self love, especially not when they worked so damn hard to keep themselves looking this way… well that wasn’t entirely true, it was more so a bi-product of their chosen career. Sue them.

The pair had three hours to run through their routine, ironing out kinks and nailing the lifts. When their time was up they were leaving the studio satisfied but exhausted, both worn out and ready for a shower and food. The pair bumped bottles before draining their respective contents, Rhys bringing a hand up to comb back the floppy mess that had fallen down into his eyes, hissing as gel infused sweat dripped into his eye. “Shit!” He cursed, instinctively balling up a fist to rub at the eye, that had been a mistake and a half; now it felt like his eye was on fire “Ow! Fuck?”

Fiona almost spat the last of her drink out at the outburst, reaching to yank the others hand away from his eyes. “Stop rubbing it! You’ll make it worse, dumbass” She couldn’t help but laugh at the indignant whine that had earned her from Rhys. “What? Am I wrong?” She took his lack of a response as a no, holding the door open for him on the way out. “Come on, you can get it out in the shower… ya big baby”

“Hey!” He huffed, continuing his assault on his sore eye, rubbing away as he passed her. “It hurts, haven't you ever gotten shampoo in your eyes before? Shit /hurts/” Fiona roller her eyes as she pushed off from the door, following after Rhys. “You know… I don’t wanna be that person buuu-t” Rhys already knew where this was going. “I told you so!” She grinned, crossing her arms over her chest. “Just buy a sweatband, it's not that difficult Rhys” He grumbled something in response, scrubbing at his eye for a moment longer before pulling his hand away to let it breath, instantly regretting it and replacing the hand with a hiss.

“They’re hideous”

Fiona frowned at that, throwing her hands up “You’re impossible!”

Rhys grinned at her response, poking his tongue out at her playfully. “But at least I look good” That earned a scoff from Fiona who had recrossed her arms, now smirking up at him. “And you think gel in your eye is a good look?”

“Oh whatever!” He tried to sound serious although that wasn’t easy over the laugh that followed. “Fine, I get it… I’ll get one, if only to shut you up” Rhys conceded as they rounded the corner for the shower rooms. “That works for me” Fiona's smirk widened into a grin as she closed in on him. “So long as I don’t have to listen to /your/ whining during practice anymore” She gave Rhys a sharp prod in the chest to accentuate her point, splitting off towards the ladies shower room as Rhys frowned, rubbing his chest. “I do not whine!”

  
Fiona spun on her heels, turning to call over her shoulder “Sure you don’t” Before disappearing into the room leaving Rhys to grumble to himself as he ducked into the men’s shower room.

Once done in the shower, Rhys stood in front of his locker, toweling off his hair as he rummaged through the pouch he kept his soaps and gel in. “Aha!” He hummed to himself, letting his towel drop down around his shoulders, pulling a hairband from the pouch. He had decided to heed Fiona's advice, tying his hair up into a small bun instead of gelling it back, not that he had long hair, there was just enough to make a neat little man bun… save for a few stray strands but that would have to do. The last thing he needed was hair or gel in his eyes for their exam later. As he was hanging his towels up to dry, he'd come back for them later, he felt his phone vibrate against his thigh. He pulled the device out as he padded back over towards his locker, peering down at the screen to see a notification pop up, and then another.

[1 NEW MESSAGE]  
\-------------------------------

[ Fi {Sparkles emoji} {two hearts emoji} ]

_Hey hurry up in there_

_I wanna get lunch_

\------------------------------

Rhys let slip a quiet snort as he typed out his response, locking up and pocketing his keys.

\-------------------------------------------------------

[ TO: Fi {Sparkles emoji} {two hearts emoji} ]

_Coming_

_Try not to gnaw your own arm off, need you in one piece for later_

\-------------------------------------------------------

He smirked down at the screen, pleased with himself. His phone vibrated a moment later.

\----------------------------------------------------

[ Fi {Sparkles emoji} {two hearts emoji} ]

_You’re paying, you owe me x_

\-----------------------------------

Rhys didn’t have the energy to argue with her, instead pocketing his phone as he left the shower room, he probably did owe her… he wasn’t sure what for but she was probably right.

* * *

“You have all performed exceptionally today, I have complete confidence in each of you and your ability to represent Atlas in the coming year whilst on placement. As previously discussed, you will be splitting off into pairs with the partners you chose for this last unit, together you will be in charge of leading a class of your own. Now these classes come in a range of ages from the early stages, all the way up to sixty plus.” Rhys and Fiona stood side by side, careful not to lean against one another for fear of sticking together, much like the rest of the students who also stood in their chosen pairs. The room was silent, spare from their instructors' voices, all students eager to hear who they had been assigned to. More importantly, they were eager to hear who had gotten assigned to the coveted scholars class, a program used to scout talented high-schoolers and offer the most exceptional students scholarships, only three of which were selected out of a class of twenty.

“You will be teaching these classes once a week, whilst continuing your studies here during the week. You will receive guidance on lesson plans and mentoring whilst working towards your final group production.” There was an excited hum of chatter in response to that, each year there was an end of year show, every year would be involved but the emphasis was on the seniors, talent scouts from all over would come to watch for those who really stood out, it was their last chance to really give it their all and perhaps even walk straight into a job with one of the top studios on Pandora. That was the dream.

“But before we get ahead of ourselves, let's assign the classes, I will be happy to stay behind and answer any questions any of you may have.” The chatter died back down into silence, anticipation heavy in the air as they waited to hear who had been assigned the scholars class.

“Rhys and Fiona will be leading the scholars class this year, congratulations to you both, I have no doubts that you will do us proud and bring in some truly exceptional candidates for us”

Had they… heard that right. The pair stood, awestruck as their classmates turned to them, envious of course but ultimately happy for them, they were after all like one big, bizarre, family. Fiona turned to look up at Rhys, eyes wide, meeting equally wide bewildered eyes as the class began to clap for them. “I …” Rhys started, unable to form much more than that. “Yeah… wow…” Fiona finished for him, cracking a smile up at him that broke into a nervous laugh, Rhys joining her as their attention was drawn back to the front where their instructor had begun assigning the rest of the classes.

The pair sat through the remainder of the lesson in stunned silence, even on the way out of the class as everyone was slapping them on the back and congratulating them they continued on almost like zombies, unable to completely make sense of what had just happened. There was a mention of a party that they had both agreed to go to, in celebration of the end of junior year, although it wasn’t until they had made it back to Fiona's car, the doors slamming shut behind them, rocking the vehicle, that the realization really hit. The pair looked at each other silently, their lips curling up into smiles and then grins before they both screamed in unison, grabbing each other's hands as they jointly lost it.

“They picked US!” Rhys finally yelled through the screams, shaking their hands excitedly. “US! They want us to lead the scholars class!” He beamed, Fiona nodding furiously. “Oh my god-oh MY GOD! We… we did it! Rhys, we actually fucking did it!”

“I know! And do you know what we’re going to do now?” His grin calmed into a smirk as he squeezed her hands, leaning in close. “We’re going to go and get so ridiculously fucked we can’t remember what we’re celebrating”

Fiona returned the smirk, giving his hands a squeeze in return “Now you’re speaking my language, I knew we were best friends for a reason.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rhys can be best friends with both Fiona and Vaughn, he has TWO HANDS! He has TWO hands damn it!
> 
> I tried out a new format for texting in this, I think it worked well? Also Rhys is 100% that bitch that adds emojis to EVERY SINGLE PERSON in his contacts, they have to have an emoji or else how is he supposed to know who it is... just read their name? absolutely not. 
> 
> I'm having so much fun with this guys, I can't wait for the boys to meet in the next chapter. Stay posted, sparks are about to fly! 
> 
> As always any and all feedback is much appreciated, it really does make a difference hearing from you guys! and hell... if you have any requests for things you wanna see happen let me know! <3


End file.
